Black Lives Matter protesters march in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) — Some employees of the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland were sent home early in anticipation of a march protesting police shootings of black people.

Darren Toms, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, tells Cleveland.com that employees were sent home about 3:30 p.m. Monday as a precaution in case the march disrupted court activities.

The Justice Center was the destination point for the march that drew 30 to 40 people, monitored by police officers on bicycles. Media reports show demonstrators chanting “black lives matter,” walking in a lane of traffic downtown.

The march followed the fatal recent shootings of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota. Last Thursday, a black sniper killed five white police officers in Dallas in apparent retaliation for the shootings.